toledo rockets
the premier rivalry in the mac.
in the last two games, bowling green has started to get exposed for what they are: a good mac team, but one that has major trouble matching up with teams who have lots of athleticism. western michigan and ball state both handled bg because the falcons couldnt match up. toledo has every bit as much athleticism as both bsu and western.
its no coincidence that bowling green is last in the conference in free throws attempted. after lewis quit the team in the offseason, it left bowling green with nobody that can take the ball to the basket and draw fouls, and really nobody that can consistently create their own shot or something for teammates when things break down. reimold is a deadly shooter, but he is purely a catch and shoot guy. almanson is a nice inside player, but he is kinda soft and more finesse and doesnt get to the line nearly as much as he should.
bowling green is able to stay above .500 because they do the little things well. theyre well-coached, get good leadership from reimold, and shoot the ball well from 3pt range and the line.
but when it comes to matching up with the blue-chip talent in the mac, bowling green cant do it this year. all their athletes are on the football field, lol.
i was fortunate enough to see both of last years meetings in person. they split the season series, but toledo really shoulda swept bg. rockets won at home and then had a chance to win at bg but couldnt hold a 7pt halftime lead and then lost in OT.
toledo might not be the best team in the mac (as they were projected preseason) but theyre definitely top 3 or 4, and theyve probably got more talent than anyone this season. its really just a matter of knocking down shots. for awhile, toledo was living too much on the perimeter but i think joplin realized that because it seems toledo has made a concerted effort to get to the line more and be more aggressive. theyve shot fewer 3s than usual the last couple games and have taken 60 FTs in the last two games while shooting 52% from the field.
but i could really throw out all the stats and numbers and just go by what i know about both teams as well as what i saw in person last year when these two matched up (because the rosters are the same). toledo is just a superior basketball team and bowling green didnt have answers for triplett and ingram going to the basket against 'em. and valencia really didnt even play a whole lot last year but now he is giving the rockets a legit inside threat with pinson.
toledo wins this basketball game. i am very confident of it.
